D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler.Photo: Virginia Sports (3)
The three fatal victims of Sunday night’s shooting on the campus of the University of Virginia are being remembered in online fundraisers set up in their names.
The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 22, a UVA student and a former member of the football team, was taken into custody Monday morning. He faces three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said on Monday.
It is not immediately clear if Jones has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
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The school posted a statement on its official Twitter account reading: “Devin, Lavel and D’Sean were our classmates, teammates, friends and family. They were study partners and role models. They made us laugh and inspired us. They had dreams. They succeeded both on and off the field. They are forever Cavaliers.”
In aGoFundMe created for Perry’s family, the 22-year-old linebacker was described as having “the kindest soul and a positive impact on anyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
“His ability to put a smile on anyone’s face regardless of the situation made him truly special,” the fundraiser’s description reads, in part. “He was a leader on and off the field who strived to be the best, encouraged everyone else to be their best, and excelled in the classroom. He was a man of faith who loved his friends, family, community, and football deeply. An avid lover of art and music whose artistic ability was unmatched.”
One comment from a friend of Perry’s reads: “You always put a smile on my face and showed me kindness and love! You were an example for many of us, younger student athletes, to follow within the Gulliver Prep program. Today I am aching and mad because the system failed you at a moment when you were giving all to achieve your NFL dreams! Another talent just gone too soon… Fly high, my friend! Love you forever Rambo LL10!”
A former coworker and friend of Chandler’s mother, Dalayna Chandler, created aGoFundMeto help Dalayna with funeral expenses.
“I have hope that Devin’s mom won’t have to deal with financial burden on top of what she is already facing,” Shelly Crais wrote in an update on the fundraiser.
Chandler, a wide receiver, was from Huntersville, N.C. and transferred to UVA from the University of Wisconsin last year.
One comment on the fundraiser reads, “Devin was such a light in this world. Always smiling and making others smile. We all have special memories of Devin that we will always remember. Love and prayers to the Chandler family.”
According to the fundraiser, Chandler’s funeral will be held on Dec. 15.
AGoFundMefor Davis' family calls him “a star both on and off the field.”
“He loved his parents, his family, his community, and he had a love for football like no other,” the fundraiser’s description reads, in part. “He worked hard coming back from two injuries to be one of the best college football players in the country.”
UVA professor Jack Hamilton wrote on Twitter that he had both Chandler and Davis, a wide receiver, as students at the university.
“I am so indescribably sad right now but I wanted to share a few memories of them, because they were wonderful people,” he wrote.
Hamilton went on to say that Chandler repeatedly came to his office hours session to learn about UVA after transferring. Eventually, Hamilton helped his student declare American Studies as his major.
“[H]e was an unbelievably nice person, always a huge smile, really gregarious and funny,” Hamilton tweeted. “[O]ne of those people who’s just impossible not to like. it is so sad and enraging that he is gone.”
Hamilton described Davis as “quieter than devin (at least in my experience) but was also such a nice guy.” He says that after the first day of class this semester, Davis approached him, shook his hand and told him to call him Vel.
“[O]ne thing that struck me about vel was how much his classmates liked him and vice versa. in my experience star athletes often tend to hang out with other athletes (understandable, given the time commitment) but vel seemed to go out of his way to make friends with non-athletes,“he tweeted.
“[A]nyways I am just stunned and devastated and completely at a loss but wanted to say all this because they were great people with truly limitless futures and they should still be here. it breaks my heart.”
The fundraiser for Lavel Davis Jr. can be foundhere.
The fundraiser for Devin Chandler can be foundhere.
The fundraiser for D’Sean Perry can be foundhere.
GoFundMe has verified each fundraiser to PEOPLE.
source: people.com
